Mercedes-Benz plots more opulent, electric future

Mercedes-Benz bigwigs have converged on the alluring French Riviera to chart an equally glamorous future for the brand. The company says it will focus even further on luxury to elevate its product portfolio and accelerate its path to a fully electric future while targeting structurally higher profitability.

The plan involves recalibrating its product portfolio, allocating more than 75% of its investments to develop products for the most profitable market segments while growing the sales share of its top-end vehicles by about 60% by 2026. 

The increased focus on luxury follows rising customer demand which saw the Mercedes-Benz S-class increase sales by 40%, while Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Maybach also set new records. 

The brand says it will achieve this by ramping up its AMG, EQS and Maybach product offerings, the earliest foray led by the upcoming Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, a new Mercedes-Maybach SL and creating more limited edition models such as the Maybach by Virgil Abloh and expanding a new programme of ultra-exclusive collector cars, to be known as the “MYTHOS Series”.

These cars — produced in selected numbers — will be made available exclusively to the most dedicated enthusiasts and collectors of Mercedes-Benz.

The all-electric future of the brand will leverage on the technologies of the VISION AMG and its EQXX EV cousin which recently drove over 1,000km on a single charge. Mercedes-AMG electrification will be underpinned by the high-performance AMG.EA architecture developed for the Vision AMG concept study. Drivetrain components are developed entirely from scratch by Mercedes-Benz’s wholly-owned subsidiary YASA, including the high-voltage battery and drive technology of an Axial Flux Motor.

The all-electric G-Class is happening, and the company says this will be the first Mercedes-Benz vehicle to feature advanced battery cell chemistry from Sila Nanotechnologies as an option. These silicon-based batteries are credited with longer driving range and faster charging characteristics while steps to expand the G product family are also being evaluated.

The core luxury brands, notably the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class, and which typically have the crucial high sales volumes nugget will also go electric, leveraging the EVA2 platform in the EQE SUV range and the MB.EA architecture. The new E-Class that comes to market next year is said will once more set new benchmarks in digital customer experience while development of an additional electric derivative based on the EVA2 platform but specifically for the Chinese market continues. 

Change is also coming to the Entry Luxury, which easily denotes the A and B-Class ranges. Mercedes-Benz says it will reduce the number of model variants from seven to four while elevating the technological substance. These changes will reposition Mercedes-Benz in the segment, honing in more precisely on the wishes of discerning customers.

“What has always been the core of our brand is now also the core of our strategy: the luxury segment. We are further sharpening the focus of our business model and product portfolio in order to maximise the potential of Mercedes-Benz even in challenging conditions. At the heart of that is our goal to build the world’s most desirable cars,” concluded Ola Källenius, chairman of Mercedes-Benz Group.